The De Zalze Murders

The Story Behind the Brutal Axe Attack

The Van Bredas were the perfect family. Wealthy, successful and well-liked. In a luxury estate just outside Stellenbosch they lived what seemed like a dream life. But everything changed overnight. The gruesome murders of Martin, his wife Teresa and their son Rudi shocked South Africa. Julian Jansen, one of the first reporters on the scene, immediately realised that the case was going to place exceptional demands on the police. He was also deeply shaken by the events. As relatives and friends one by one started talking to Jansen, a picture emerged of parents at their wits' end with their difficult 'loner' child and his drug problem. Could it be that the Van Bredas' own son had wielded the axe? From the moment the news broke, Rapport journalist Julian Jansen has followed the case closely as a reporter for the Sunday press grappling with the human side of this tragedy.